Bruce Ely/The Oregonian Brandon Roy and Andre Miller have struggled to find rhythm at times this season. Andre Miller goes for 52 points in what goes down as one of the most remarkable individual performances in Trail Blazers history and there can be only one question after.

It's this: Can Miller and Brandon Roy find a way to consistently work together for the remainder of the season?

Again, Miller just pinned 50-plus on an NBA playoff team in Portland's 114-112 overtime victory. If you're among the few left not ready to give him credit, and acknowledge that the guy can play, I can't help you.

Miller has changed minds over the last few weeks in Portland, and anyone who has had the opportunity to see him regularly play has come to understand that there's a place in the organization for him --- on the court. With Roy out, healing his injured hamstring, Miller has been terrific.

Roy and Miller have been largely improved the last couple of weeks together, but there are moments in which they look uncomfortable, or out of place, and I think the Blazers season hinges upon their ability to find some symbiosis.

Loved that Miller walked off the court on Saturday night, shrugged, and acted as though dropping the second-most points in franchise history on an opponent was no big deal.

"A team effort," Miller called it.

So can it really be one from now on?

That answer will have to come from Roy, who was likely and understandably threatened by the arrival of a 10-year veteran in the back court. And the hope here is that Roy will continue to embrace Miller the way fans have in the last couple of weeks. It's not that Roy hasn't been a good teammate, it's that he hasn't yet figured out a way to play effectively alongside Miller.

Again, Miller-Roy have found some common ground in recent weeks. But Miller's best moments are coming with Roy on the bench, and Roy's best are coming with Miller on the bench. And I'm thinking the Blazers need those two guys on the floor together at some point, having more great moments together.

They're Portland's most effective offensive players. They're arguably the players with the highest basketball IQ (apologies to Juwan Howard). They're both point guard types in the half court. And they make a heck of a 1-2 combination for coach Nate McMillan, except most of the time that happens when one is in the game and the other is not.

They both need the ball in their hands, you're thinking.

I wasn't a huge fan of GM Kevin Pritchard's signing of Miller in free agency, and wrote it. He was not a perfect fit, or their first (Hedo) or second (Paul Milsap) choice, but they thought they had to do something. And so they did. But I felt (Read: hoped) the two players, given enough time, might grow and play well enough together to make the move palatable.

I lost faith when Roy announced he was more comfortable with incumbent Steve Blake. And lost more faith when Miller blew up at his coach in practice. And I've never been more pleased to be wrong about losing faith in a player/situation than I was in seeing Miller prove he belongs with that beautiful outburst on Saturday. His play the last couple of weeks have made everything feel a little more merry for everyone.

Yes, I know. It's easy to get carried away after Miller posts 52 points. But maybe he needed that to prove to everyone he can flat play. And frankly, and more significantly, the Blazers needed all 52 points to beat Dallas in Texas on Saturday.

The Roy-less Blazers are not a playoff team. But he'll be back when the hamstring heals. And it's become clear that if Portland is going anywhere meaningful this season it will have to come with these two guys on the floor working together.

If Roy accepts Miller as a player capable of being the Blazers No. 2 option (LaMarcus Aldridge doesn't yet want that responsibility), this can work. If Miller finds a way to accentuate Roy;'s incredible skill set in the halfcourt, this can work. If McMillan continues to foster, "We need all hands on deck," mentality, this can work.